NDIS Price Guide for 2026

The NDIS price guide 2026 brings significant changes to how funding is allocated and calculated. If you’re a participant or support coordinator, understanding these updates is essential for planning your services effectively.

At Nursed, we’ve broken down the key changes and practical steps to help you navigate the new rates and adjust your budget accordingly.

What’s Actually in the 2026 NDIS Price Guide

The structure and specificity of PAPL

The NDIS Price Guide-officially called Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits (PAPL)-is far more specific than most people realise. This isn’t a general document about funding principles. It’s a detailed catalogue of supports with exact maximum prices attached to each one. The 2025-26 version, which applies to 2026, lists every support available through the scheme with unique line item codes and corresponding price caps. Physiotherapy maxes out at $183.99 per hour, psychology at $232.99 per hour, and dietetics at $188.99 per hour. These aren’t suggestions-they’re the absolute ceiling providers can charge.

What matters for your planning is that the NDIA based these rates on more than 10.5 million therapy transactions, making this the most data-driven pricing update to date. The guide also specifies which supports allow travel claims (capped at 50% of the 10-minute increment price), which can be delivered non-face-to-face, and which apply to group sessions.

If your support coordinator or provider isn’t referencing the actual Support Catalogue document, they’re likely missing critical details about what you can and cannot claim.

How pricing changed for 2026

The 2026 updates removed regional loadings for physiotherapy and psychology, meaning rural and metropolitan areas now pay identical rates. This sounds fair on paper, but it created real pressure for providers in high-cost regions. The NDIA also introduced outcomes-based milestone payments as a trial for certain participants-particularly school leavers entering work-shifting away from purely hourly billing. Support worker rates increased by 3.95% in line with Fair Work Commission decisions, which flows into the cost model for disability support work.

Assistive technology and consumables items were added, modified, or removed to align with the NDIS Supports List, so older price information is genuinely outdated. Early childhood supports now extend to age 9 instead of 7, expanding access but also creating new budget lines for families. The changes took effect on 24 November 2025, meaning any billing or planning using older rates is non-compliant.

What you need to do now

Download the official 2025-26 PAPL document and Support Catalogue from the NDIA website-not from a third party or your provider’s internal documentation. Cross-reference your current supports against the actual line item codes listed. If your service agreement with a provider still references 2024-25 rates, request an updated agreement immediately. Calculate what your actual costs should be under the new rates by working through your plan budget line by line. Many participants find their allocated funding covers fewer hours than they expected once actual 2026 rates apply.

Contact the NDIA directly or work with a plan manager if anything doesn’t add up-don’t assume your provider’s interpretation is correct, even if they’re well-intentioned. Understanding these specific rates and line items positions you to make informed decisions about which supports to prioritise and how to structure your plan for maximum benefit. The next section walks through how to locate your specific support categories and calculate what you’ll actually pay.

Where Your Therapy Costs Actually Changed

Therapy rates shifted across the board in 2026, and the direction matters for your budget. Physiotherapy dropped to $183.99 per hour, while psychology rose to $232.99 per hour. Dietetics and podiatry both settled at $188.99 per hour. The NDIA based these adjustments on data from Medicare and private health insurers, so they reflect what services genuinely cost in the real market. If you allocated therapy hours based on older rates, you now have either more purchasing power in some areas or less in others.

Psychology became more expensive, so participants relying heavily on psychological support may need to restructure their plan. Conversely, physiotherapy became slightly cheaper, which gives you room to extend sessions or add additional support if that’s your priority.

Regional pricing changes affect your location

The removal of regional loadings compounds this shift. Previously, rural and remote participants paid higher rates for physiotherapy and psychology to account for provider travel costs. That’s gone. Rural and metropolitan areas now pay identical rates, which sounds equitable but created genuine hardship for providers in high-cost regions who can’t sustain services at lower reimbursement. For you as a participant, this means the same therapist costs the same whether you’re in regional Queensland or inner Melbourne. You can shop around for providers without worrying that rural or remote location will inflate your costs.

Support worker rates increased with wage decisions

Disability support worker rates increased 3.95% from 1 July 2025, reflecting Fair Work Commission wage decisions. This increase flows directly into the cost model for all worker-delivered supports, meaning personal care, community access, and daily living assistance all became more expensive. If your support budget felt tight before, this wage adjustment likely tightened it further. You need to plan your hours carefully and prioritise which activities matter most to you, because fewer hours now fit within the same funding allocation.

Assistive technology and consumables shifted

Assistive technology and consumables experienced a different kind of change: items were added, modified, or deleted entirely to align with the NDIS Supports List. This wasn’t just administrative tidying. If you’ve been using a particular consumable or piece of technology that’s now removed from the catalogue, you can’t claim it anymore through your plan. Early childhood supports expanded from age 7 to age 9, which opens new pathways for younger children but also means families with children in that age range need to revisit their plans to capture supports they couldn’t previously access. Your old price lists are genuinely obsolete. If your provider or plan manager is still referencing anything before November 2025, they’re working with incorrect information and your invoices could be non-compliant.

Outcomes-based payments reshape support delivery

The NDIA trialled outcomes-based milestone payments for certain participants, particularly school leavers entering work and young people in aged care homes. Instead of paying for every hour delivered, providers now receive payment for reaching specific milestones-someone secures employment, someone improves their living situation, someone builds community connections. This isn’t just a billing change; it reshapes how providers approach your support. They become incentivised to focus on your goals rather than simply delivering hours. If you’re in a trial cohort, this could mean more intensive initial planning and goal-setting, then support structured around achieving those outcomes rather than filling time slots. Providers operating under outcomes-based models have stronger motivation to help you actually improve your situation rather than maintain the status quo. You should clarify your goals in writing with your provider before support begins. If you’re not in a trial, outcomes-based payments don’t apply yet, but the direction is clear: the NDIS is shifting away from purely hourly models. Plan your supports now with an eye toward what you actually want to achieve, not just what hours you can fill. The next section shows you exactly how to find your support category and calculate what you’ll actually pay under these new arrangements.

Using the Price Guide to Match Your Actual Support Needs

Locate your support codes in the catalogue

The Support Catalogue organises supports by type with unique line item codes attached to each one, not by participant type or disability category. Physiotherapy sits in the 01 series. Personal care and assistance occupies the 02 series. Community access falls in the 03 series. Each code carries a maximum price: physiotherapy at $183.99 per hour, community participation at varying rates depending on group size and location, personal care at rates that differ based on whether support happens during standard hours or evenings and weekends.

Open the 2025-26 Support Catalogue from the NDIA website and search for every support you currently use. Write down the line item code, the maximum price, and any restrictions noted like travel claims or non-face-to-face delivery. This task takes an hour but prevents months of billing confusion later.

Calculate your actual annual costs

Multiply the maximum price by the hours you need each week, then across a year. If you receive physiotherapy twice weekly at $183.99 per hour for one-hour sessions, that totals $367.98 per week or $19,135.48 annually. Add your support worker hours at the current rates-personal care at standard hours runs approximately $65 to $75 per hour depending on your location and the provider’s actual charges within the price cap.

Most participants discover their allocated funding covers significantly fewer hours than they expected once actual 2026 rates apply. Plan conservatively: allocate support to your highest priorities first, then add additional services if budget remains.

Address funding gaps with the NDIA

Contact the NDIA directly if your allocated funding doesn’t cover the supports you need-they can reassess your plan. Don’t pressure your provider to charge below their actual cost; that pressure leads to staff burnout and service collapse. Instead, work with your plan manager or the NDIA to adjust your budget allocation or restructure which supports you access.

Registered providers can show you exactly how your funding breaks down across your planned supports and highlight where you might extend services or find alternative options within your budget. The gap between allocated funding and actual costs is real, and addressing it upfront prevents mid-year surprises when invoices arrive.

Use your provider’s support to navigate the catalogue

Your provider holds responsibility for explaining which line item codes apply to your specific supports and how those codes translate into your actual costs. Ask your provider to map each support you receive against the official catalogue codes and show you the calculation. If your service agreement still references 2024-25 rates, request an updated agreement immediately that reflects 2025-26 pricing.

Cross-reference your current supports against the actual line item codes listed in the official document-not from a summary or your provider’s internal rate sheet. This verification step protects you from non-compliant billing and ensures your plan reflects genuine 2026 costs.

Final Thoughts

The 2026 NDIS price guide reshapes what your supports cost and how much of your allocation you’ll spend on each service type. Regional loadings disappeared, support worker rates climbed 3.95%, and therapy pricing shifted across the board-these changes affect your budget directly and determine what you can actually access. Start now by obtaining the official 2025-26 Pricing Arrangements and Price Limits document from the NDIA, then map your current supports against the actual line item codes to calculate what you’ll genuinely pay.

If your allocated funding falls short of what you need, contact the NDIA directly to request reassessment rather than accepting a plan that doesn’t meet your goals. Request updated service agreements from your provider that reference 2025-26 pricing, and ask them to show you exactly how your funding breaks down across each support. This verification step protects you from billing surprises and ensures your plan reflects realistic costs under the new structure.

We at Nursed work with participants to navigate the new pricing structure and help you access the supports you need within your budget. Whether you need daily living assistance, community access, or respite care, our team can explain how the NDIS price guide 2026 affects your specific situation and help you plan accordingly. Contact us to discuss how we can support you through these changes.